This invention relates generally to improvements in food trays which aid in the process of eating food while seated in a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to an innovation in the way drive-up fast-food and its packaging is contained, supported and accommodated to work in cooperation with the human body seated in a moving vehicle to improve the process of consuming the food from the food packaging quickly with a lower chance of accidentally spilling food particles on the vehicle or its human passengers.
Trays for the portable food are well known and in use worldwide. The process of eating food while seated in a moving vehicle involves several common methods today. Today, a typical full meal delivered out the window of a drive-up fast-food restaurant into a vehicle includes a paper bag containing a sandwich and French fries with a separate drink cup commonly referred to as a combination meal or combo meal.
One method is to place the often greasy bag of French fries and hamburger or other sandwich on the passenger seat and place the drink cup in an automotive drink cup holder (if a drink holder is provided in the vehicle). A second method is to place the often greasy bag in the lap with the drink cup held between the knees. A third method is to hold the drink cup in one hand, spread the often greasy sandwich wrapper out on the lap, balance the fries and sandwich between the legs and steer the vehicle with the other hand.
All of these methods have a high risk of spillage of food items with a high risk of soiling clothing or seat fabric with greasy stains and afford minimal accommodation for the forces of vehicular acceleration, deceleration and turning which can cause food items to slide, upset and spill within the vehicle.
The problem of eating in a vehicle in motion while trying to avoid spilling food items within the vehicle simultaneously presents high safety risks to the occupants of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,161 to Conway discloses an accordion pleated, boat shaped expandable lap protector tray made of a liquid and grease impervious material to protect the clothing and the interior of a vehicle. The Conway patent defines an expandable, boat shaped lap protector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,276 to Cutler discloses a flat paperboard blank that can be folded into a dual configuration food and beverage container carrier tray with handle flaps that may be folded in two ways to produce two functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,561 to Lorenzanna discloses an injection molded plastic tray with an elongated body section and recessed areas for food and beverage containers having permanently fixed, downwardly projecting legs to retain the tray positioned and engaging the outer thighs of a seated vehicle occupant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,855 to Sussman discloses a molded fiber paper lap tray having permanently fixed downwardly projecting legs, tapered drink cup holder, a pair of food containers and an annular rim to prevent food spillage while riding in a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,164 to Beck discloses an injection molded plastic car lap tray forming a combination food and beverage plate with a substantially concentric circle design having a drink cup cylinder in the center of a larger circular food support plate.
Unfortunately, the devices of the prior art exhibit a number of disadvantages. For example:
1. They are ineffective in securely holding drink cups, particularly when the cups come in multiple sizes;
2. They are excessively bulky for convenient storage;
3. They will not stay in place when placed in a user""s lap;
4. They are ineffective in preventing food spillage onto a user""s clothing;
5. They are ineffective in holding fluidic condiments separately from other food items; and
They are expensive to provide.
Thus there is a need for a tray for holding potentially messy objects such as fast food items to be consumed by a seated user that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
The present invention meets this need by providing a pop-up tray that is particularly suitable for holding fast food items to be eaten by vehicle occupants.
The invention involves an improvement in the way food items are consumed within a moving vehicle. The improvement relates to a change in the utility of food packaging which offers reduced risk of spillage caused by the motion of the vehicle, providing a safe place to position food items during both hand operation of vehicular controls, improved protection from food items soiling clothing or seat fabric and an accommodation for the collection, deposit and enclosure of refuse for disposal. The present invention improves the utility of such trays with the innovations of a multiple spring cam mechanism for accommodating a wide variety of drink cup sizes, providing a fold-out panel that catches spilled food particles while eating seated in a moving vehicle, a foldable condiment serving tub, a fold-out panel that contains the used food containers for convenient disposal and automatic pop-out food tray support legs that positions the tray in the driver""s lap or in a passenger seat.
The tray has an automatic pop-out food tray support leg system that position the tray in the drivers lap or in a passenger seat. By simply pushing on the ends of the flattened tray, leg extremities are pivoted downwardly and outwardly, and other panels are put into motion with a variety of pivots, arches, cam actions and over center locks that cause the tray to erect itself into a 3-dimensional structure that automatically extends a pair of support legs, creates a hollow open space inside the tray, arches the top surface of the tray to add rigidity to the structure and creates a bridge structure with legs on two ends with the tray elevated and supported on the legs.
In one aspect of the invention, a pop-up tray includes a tubular structure including top, bottom, front and back wall portions having hinged connections therebetween, and a pair of leg walls having hinged connections to the tubular structure at opposite ends thereof, the tray having a storage condition wherein the top and bottom wall portions are in facing contact and the front and back wall portions and the side walls are disposed parallel to the top and bottom walls, and a deployed condition wherein the top and bottom walls are stiffly spaced apart and the leg walls stiffly project below the bottom wall portion, the top wall having openings formed therein for receiving objects to be held by the tray.
The front and back wall portions can each have hingedly connected upper and lower sections, the upper and lower sections having facing contact in the storage condition. The leg walls can each have hingedly connected upper and lower segments, the lower segment being hingedly connected at an intermediate location to the bottom wall portion, the upper and lower segments having facing contact in the storage condition. The upper section of each of the leg walls can be hingedly connected along a leg hinge axis to the top wall portion, the leg hinge axes having respective non-linear shapes with internal stresses in at least some of the panels for detenting the tray into the deployed condition. The leg hinge axes can be curved, being preferably concave outwardly along opposite ends of the top wall portion for forming the top wall portion upwardly convex in the deployed condition of the tray.
In another aspect of the invention, a method for serving fast food items for consumption thereof includes:
(a) providing the pop-up tray of the present invention in the storage condition thereof;
(b) applying downward and oppositely outward forces to free end extremities of the leg walls while simultaneously applying opposite inward forces to upper portions of the leg walls, thereby popping the tray into the deployed condition; and
(c) inserting the fast food items into respective ones of the top wall openings.
The lower segments of the leg walls can be reinforced for limiting bending thereof.
In one preferred form, a generally rectilinear tray formed of paper, plastic or other sheets of material pops-up from a flattened storage condition to provide a food serving tray that functions as a lap or seat mounted support for the typical sandwich, drink cup and French fry container related to eating drive-in fast-food while operating an vehicle. A multiple spring cam mechanism can accommodate a wide variety of drink cup sizes by bending and conforming the tray material to the conical contours of a typical drink cup to form a double ring of multiple contact points with the cup, which tends to secure the base of the cup on two levels providing a stable yet flexible cup holder, which exposes the upper portion of the cup to be available for grasping and easy removal for use, then, after use, easy replacement for hands-free support of the cup.
Preferably the spring cam elements are coplanar with the top wall portion in the storage condition, the cam elements being formed for contacting the beverage cup at a first plurality of locations proximate the base thereof, and at a second plurality of locations being elevated above the first plurality of locations, with the cup resting on the bottom wall portion. Preferably The spring cam elements are integrally formed with the top wall portion for facilitating manufacture and storage. Preferably the spring cam elements are formed for making gripping contact over a range of cup diameters at the respective contact locations being in a ratio of 2 to 1.
The openings of the top wall can include a main opening for receiving a main object, the tubular structure further comprising a plurality of container wall portions hingedly connected to top wall portion and extending within the main opening, free extremities of the container wall portions being formed for interlocking engagement between the top wall portion and the bottom wall portion when the tray is in the deployed condition. The top wall portion can be upwardly convex in the deployed condition of the tray, the container wall portions including a pair of longitudinally spaced side wall portions, the side wall portions being hingedly joined to the top wall portion along corresponding side hinge axes, the side hinge axes being curved inwardly concave for reinforcing the upwardly convex formation of the top wall portion and the interlocking engagement of the container wall portions.
The tray preferably provides a fold out panel that catches spilled food particles while eating seated in a moving vehicle. The fold-out panel has three operating positions, first, the fold-out panel has a compact conformal wrap position that stays out of the way during transfer from the restaurant to the vehicle, second, the fold-out panel pivots out to an angle that rests on the users chest and belly when the tray is in the lap so that the panel can shield the user""s clothing from particles of food spilled while eating in a moving vehicle, and third, the fold-out panel folds to enclose the empty French fry container, empty drink cup and other empty packaging for transport to a garbage can for disposal. The tray is preferably formed for covering a main dish opening (such as for retaining heat) without blocking the placement of projecting items such as the drink cup or French fry container in other openings.
The tray can also include an innovative a foldable condiment serving tub that is formed from the sheet of material removed to create space for the French fry container retention hole. This material is removed, folded and inserted into a receptacle hole in the tray to form a container for condiments.
A free extremity of the tray panel can be formed for tab-engagement with the top wall portion for holding the tray panel in the closed position. The tray panel can have a main portion and a root portion hingedly connecting the main portion to the tubular structure proximate an upper extremity of the front wall portion, the main and root portions being hingedly connected, the root portion being in facing contact with the front wall portion in the storage position.
The tubular structure, the leg walls, and the tray panel can be integrally formed of a single sheet of card stock, substantially every wall portion and every wall segment being subjected to one or more of bending, twisting, arching, stretching and compressing in the deployed condition for enhanced rigidity of the tray in use. The leg walls can be perforated for forming finger openings by removal of portions of the card stock, portions of the card stock to be removed having indicia thereon for forming game tokens, the top wall portion having token openings for holding the game tokens, the tray panel having indicia thereon for defining a game playing surface.
In a further aspect of the invention, the pop-up tray includes the tubular structure having top, bottom, front and back wall portions having hinged connections therebetween, and a pair of end walls having hinged connections to the tubular structure at opposite ends thereof, the tray having a storage condition wherein the top and bottom wall portions are in facing contact and the front and back wall portions and the side walls are disposed parallel to the top and bottom walls, and a deployed condition wherein the top and bottom walls are stiffly spaced apart, the top wall being stiffly maintained in a curved condition in the deployed condition and having at least one opening formed therein for receiving an object to be held by the tray.
The end walls can each have hingedly connected upper and lower segments, the lower segment being hingedly connected at an intermediate location to the bottom wall portion, the upper and lower segments having facing contact in the storage condition. The upper section of each of the end walls is hingedly connected along an end hinge axis to the top wall portion, the end hinge axes having respective non-linear shapes for detenting the tray into the deployed condition. The end hinge axes can be curved, being concave outwardly along opposite ends of the top wall portion for forming the top wall portion upwardly convex in the deployed condition of the tray.
In yet a further aspect of the invention, a method for forming a pop-up tray includes:
(a) providing a sheet of stiffly flexible material;
(b) forming a perimeter contour of the sheet to define adjacent top, bottom, front and back wall portions, and a tab wall portion, of a tubular structure, the front and back wall portions each having upper and lower wall portion segments; respective outer leg wall portions adjacent opposite ends of the top wall portion; and respective inner leg wall portions adjacent opposite ends of the bottom wall portion, each of the inner and outer leg wall portions having upper and extremity segments, the extremity segments being longer than the upper segments;
(c) forming hinge discontinuities between adjacent pairs of the wall portions, along opposite ends of the top and bottom wall portions, between the upper and lower wall portion segments, and between the upper and extremity leg wall segments;
(d) forming at least one opening in the top wall portion;
(e) bonding the tab wall portion to another of the wall portions along a most remote opposite wall portion extremity of the sheet to form the tubular structure;
(f) flattening the tubular structure with the upper and lower wall portion segments in facing relation and the top and bottom wall portions in proximal facing relation;
(g) folding the inside leg wall portions between the upper and extremity segments thereof into facing relation with the extremity segments facing the bottom wall portion opposite the top wall portion;
(h) folding the outside leg wall portions between the upper and extremity segments thereof into facing relation with the extremity segments facing corresponding extremity segments of the inside leg wall portions; and
(i) bonding respective ones of the inner and outer leg wall portion extremity segments in facing relation, thereby completing the tray in the flattened storage condition with the top and bottom wall portions in proximal facing contact, the deployed condition being attained by subsequently pivoting the leg wall extremity segments downwardly and outwardly to rigidly space apart the top and bottom wall portions as the upper segments of the leg walls pivot downwardly and inwardly relative to the top wall portion into an over-center condition relative to the extremity segments.
Forming the perimeter contour can further include defining a tray panel portion adjacent the front wall portion, the forming of hinge discontinuities further includes a longitudinal discontinuity between the tray panel portion and the front wall portion, and the bonding of the tab wall portion is to the front wall portion proximate the tray panel, the method further including folding the tray panel portion into proximal facing relation with the front and bottom wall portions. Forming the perimeter contour can further include defining respective outwardly concave leg hinge axes between the upper segments of the outer leg walls and the top wall portion whereby the top wall portion is upwardly convex in the deployed condition.
The tray also provides a practical, inexpensive, easy to ship, easy to print, easy to manufacture, compact to store, convenient, popular, new form of advertising for fast food restaurants that increases consumer loyalty.
The present invention strives to make this process less risky by organizing the food items into a multifunction tray consisting of a pop-up food serving tray to function as a lap or seat mounted support for the typical sandwich, drink cup and French fry container related to eating drive-in fast-food while operating an vehicle, which includes the features of a multiple spring cam mechanism for accommodating a wide variety of drink cup sizes, providing a fold out panel that catches spilled food particles while eating seated in a moving vehicle, a foldable condiment serving tub, a fold out cover that contains the used food containers for convenient disposal and automatic pop-out food tray support legs that position the tray in the drivers lap or in a passenger seat.